PrepTest 145, Section 3, Question 17
Passage A One function of language is to(496 more words not shown)
Passage A(233 more words not shown)
Passage B(271 more words not shown)
Which one of the following(23 more words not shown)
- AOne function of(13 more words not shown)
- BAnimal vocalizations may(15 more words not shown)
- CIt is possible(12 more words not shown)
- DThere is no(20 more words not shown)
- EMacaques give alarm(10 more words not shown)
Reading the passage
First identify the claim we're supporting. Maritain says animals may communicate information without consciously intending to use their signs that way. So we're looking for something in A that bears on the absence of intention, not merely on a call's usefulness or the event that triggers it.
Working the answers
- A
This describes a function of language: changing what someone thinks in order to influence behavior. It doesn't show that animal communication lacks conscious intention.
- B
A call can benefit the signaler whether or not the animal understands the effect on the listener. An evolutionary benefit therefore doesn't establish Maritain's claim about the animal's mental activity.
- C
A possible ability to attribute mental states points toward the capacity relevant to intentional communication. It doesn't support the claim that animals lack conscious intention.
- DCorrect
The frog's call changes other frogs' behavior, but A reports no evidence that the male understands its effect on their knowledge. That supports the distinction Maritain draws with the bees: information can be conveyed without evidence that the signaler intends that communicative use. Support doesn't require conclusive proof that intention is impossible.
- E
Predator calls and food calls tell us when macaques vocalize. This choice leaves out the experimental finding about whether calls change with listeners' ignorance. The trigger alone doesn't distinguish an intentional warning from a conditioned response.
More Detail questions
Learn the LSAT our way
Our platform drills Detail questions at your level and adjusts as you improve.